"The PS3 system exceeded 3.9 million units worldwide during the holiday sales season, and continues to build momentum and remains on track to reach its annual sales target of 15 million hardware units worldwide in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012," said Sony.

Sony's PSP handheld system, PS Vita's forebear, accounted for a further 1.6 million units despite its successor's imminent launch in other territories.

"The PSP platform continued its growth, attracting a broader range of users with its enhanced lineup of software titles from third party developers and publishers as well as from [Sony Computer Entertainment]," the firm added.